The Human Brain is Still Mysterious to Us

There are many mysteries surrounding brain aneurysms ... what causes them and what causes them to rupture. When it does happen, the results can be devastating. | Source

Our Daughter's Aneurysm Changed Our Lives

My husband and I are the parents of four energetic, active adult daughters in their 30's and 40's. Together they have presented us with six wonderful grandchildren ranging in age from infants to late teens. While we worried from time to time about different problems our daughters might encounter in life, one issue that never crossed our minds is that one of them could be struck down by an aneurysm.

Recently, my husband and I were relaxing at home on a peaceful, Sunday afternoon in Southern California when we received a call from one of our teenage granddaughters, telling us that her mother had collapsed with a brain aneurysm in the Northern California town where they live and she was in the community hospital, waiting to be transported by helicopter to another hospital where they could perform surgery on her brain.

We grabbed some clothes, locked the door of our house, and began driving to Northern California, not knowing initially what city we needed to head towards.

The good news is that our daughter survived her surgery. In many ways she seems fine. However, we do not yet know what gaps she may have in her memory and what other issues she may have to overcome in the coming months. Right now we are just relieved that she survived.

Because of the aneurysm our daughter experienced, it was with great interest that I read this book by Maria Ross, who also nearly died from a brain aneurysm. The damage to Maria's brain appears to have been much more serious than the damage suffered by our daughter, as far as we can tell. However, this fact makes it even more inspiring that Maria has recovered so much of her former ability.

Her book, "Rebooting My Brain: How a Freak Aneurysm Reframed My Life," has helped me understand what we still may have ahead of us in the coming months with our own daughter. Maria's story is very encouraging and inspiring and filled me with hope. I highly recommend this book for anyone who many be going through a similar situation in their own family.

It has been rated an average of 4.5 stars out of a possible 5 stars by 125 people who have reviewed this outstanding book. I would also rank the book 5 stars, because I found it so encouraging and helpful when I read the book.

Our daughter survived her aneurysm. Not everyone is that lucky, but it was encouraging to read a book which helped us better understand what our daughter was experiencing.

Guestbook

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AUTHOR

Deborah Carr

3 years agofrom Orange County, California

For those who have been following this article about the aneurysm our daughter experienced, I thought you would all like to know that our daughter's second brain surgery was successful. Although she still has some headaches, they seem to be fading away. Otherwise, she is doing quite well.

AUTHOR

Deborah Carr

4 years agofrom Orange County, California

Our daughter will now be having her second aneurysm surgery in a couple of weeks. The surgeons had originally planned to wait at least six more months but, without explanation, changed their minds and said they needed to do it right away. That has been a scary development. We are praying that she gets through this surgery as well as she did through the first one.

AUTHOR

Deborah Carr

4 years agofrom Orange County, California

I'm so glad that your mother was able to recover after going through that terrifying experience. Our daughter did not lose her memory. However, she has another aneurysm that will have to be coiled in another six or nine months. They want the artery to recover from the first surgery before they treat the second one. I hope the second surgery goes as well as the first one did.

Linda Pogue

4 years agofrom Missouri

I'm not sure. It has something to do with the part of the brain that was affected by the aneurysm. Mom recently told me that for the first few weeks, after she came home from the hospital, she did not know anyone in the house. Since she was not able to talk at that time, we didn't know it, either. So when she was scared or acted scared, we didn't know what to do for her.

AUTHOR

Deborah Carr

4 years agofrom Orange County, California

Thank you for sharing your experience with brain aneurysms. Now that you mention it, our daughter does seem more serious and subdued. The same is true for a friend of mine who had a brain aneurysm a couple of years ago. I wonder why that is.

Linda Pogue

4 years agofrom Missouri

My mother had a brain aneurysm in 1971. After she relearned to walk and talk, we learned that she did indeed have gaps in her memory. Her personality changed, too. She is much more down to earth and more serious than before. I am glad your daughter's surgery went so well. I hope she has a full recovery without lasting aftereffects.

AUTHOR

Deborah Carr

4 years agofrom Orange County, California

@Heidi Vincent: Thank your for your good wishes for our daughter. Yes, her surgery went well and she is back on her feet again, only five weeks after getting out of the hospital. We are so relieved. I think a lot of prayers saw her through this tough time.

Heidi Vincent

4 years agofrom GRENADA

I am glad your daughter's surgery went well and I wish her a speedy recovery.

Wednesday-Elf

4 years agofrom Savannah, Georgia

Sounds like a very interesting and helpful book. I hope your daughter has a full recovery.

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